Two Baltimore sisters said they can't believe the property they have been living on since the 1960s has belonged to someone else all these years, and now the new owner plans to develop it right out from under them.

The Paxton family wasn't sure where to turn, so they called the WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team.

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The property on the side of their Garrison Boulevard home is at the core of an ownership dispute in the northwest part of the city.

Cynthia Paxton said the land, which was fenced in years ago, has belonged to her parents, Robert and Violet Paxton, for nearly five decades. But now she believes part of it was sold out from under her and her sister, and they are determined to get it back.

"How can the city not say somehow a mistake was made?" Paxton questioned.

The side yard inside the fence is now owned by the Calvary Baptist Church, which is located next door. The Paxtons found out last year when survey flags started popping up.

"When we started taking them up, the church sent us a letter saying they had purchased the land. We had no knowledge it was even up for sale," Paxton said.

Land records gave some clues as to how the sale happened, I-Team reporter Barry Simms said.

According to the deed, in 1963, Robert Paxton and his wife, who have since died, bought the house at 4009 Garrison Boulevard from a company called Lock Realty. The purchase included the small lot next door.

City records also revealed that the same lot was sold again two years later, but it wasn't sold by the Paxtons. Real estate attorney David Fishman looked over the deeds for the I-Team.

"We can tell Lock Realty Inc. granted the same property to two people, which is a no-no," Fishman said.

The I-Team discovered Lock Realty no longer exists. The owner died in 2008.

The deeds showed that Lock Realty sold the small tract of land to another couple, listing it under a separate address, 4007 Garrison Boulevard. In 1970, the city acquired it for unpaid taxes. It wasn't until 2012 that Calvary Baptist Church bought it.

"It's been draining. It's been unbelievable that after all these years this is now coming up," Paxton said.

Calvary Baptist said in a letter that it plans to expand its parking lot using the land, which it bought for $4,100. The Paxtons said it will be very close to their side door. They're blaming the city for the mess.

"How could they sell what should not have been theirs?" Cynthia Paxton questioned. "It wasn't theirs. They had no right to sell this."

The Paxton family said they don't think the city did enough to find who actually owned the property. Fishman said the Paxtons could make a challenge in court.

"It would be a mess, but an aggressive title attorney might have a shot reopening this on the grounds that a deed going to the city was deficient," he said.

The city claims it made no mistake under the rules that applied to tax sales in 1970, and the Paxtons have grown weary of trying to sort it all out, Simms said. Their only other option is buying the property back from the church.

"Is it fair? No. Should we have to give anything out of our pocket? No. But what do you do?" Paxton questioned.

At this point, the family said they would have to pay Calvary Baptist about $5,600, which includes fees the church paid to acquire the property.

Baltimore City officials declined to do an interview, and Calvary Baptist Church did not respond to 11 News' requests.